Need to contact Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee.about Repeal of ACA
This headline is real scary. Actually leaving millions without health care for YEARS while the Repugs 'figure it out" WTF have they been doing for 8 years? I am really having problems wrapping this around my head that they are actually going to do this-repeal ACA!!-It is so irrational--But I know they will --next year.
**I am suggesting we all contact these members and let them know how we feel about Repealing the ACA!!
Yes--contact both Republicans and Democrats. We have no time to lose.
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/obamacare-republicans-repeal-replace-232025
GOP may delay Obamacare replacement for years
Republicans are setting up a high-stakes deadline to replace the health care law.
By Rachael Bade and Burgess Everett
12/01/16 05:10 AM EST
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“We’re talking about a three-year transition now that we actually have a president who’s likely to sign the repeal into the law,” said Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (second from right). | Getty
Prepare for the Obamacare cliff.
Congressional Republicans are setting up their own, self-imposed deadline to make good on their vow to replace the Affordable Care Act. With buy-in from Donald Trump’s transition team, GOP leaders on both sides of the Capitol are coalescing around a plan to vote to repeal the law in early 2017 — but delay the effective date for that repeal for as long as three years.
They’re crossing their fingers that the delay will help them get their own house in order, as well as pressure a handful of Senate Democrats ......................
“We’re talking about a three-year transition now that we actually have a president who’s likely to sign the repeal into the law. ........................
This time , however, it’s access to health care for tens of millions of people that’s on the line.
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The strategy presents significant risks. The fight over a replacement is guaranteed to be messier than the cathartic repeal vote. Giving themselves as many as three years to figure it out shows that Republicans are well aware of how tough it will be.
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And following a repeal vote, insurance companies could bail on Obamacare immediately, even if there is a three-year grace period, leaving people with no health plans.
“The flaws in Obamacare are obvious to me. The solutions are much harder,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).
Boris Epshteyn, a spokesman for President-elect Donald Trump, arrives at Trump Tower, Friday, Nov. 11, 2016, in New York. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)
Moreover, there is already some intraparty turmoil over the repeal timeline, starting with Lamar Alexander, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee. He’s pressing to have a replacement plan ready before tackling repeal, which could significantly delay things, given that Republicans are far from a consensus on what kind of replacement they want.
The Tennessee Republican has notably began swapping the words “repeal and replace,” used by Republicans for years, to “replace and repeal.”
“There’s an eagerness to address it, so I think there’s no doubt we’ll start immediately to replace and repeal Obamacare, but the president-elect has said that the replacement and the repeal need to be done simultaneously, and that means to me that we need to figure out how to replace it before we repeal it,” he said.
Most Republicans, particularly in the House, want to repeal as soon as possible and deal with the replacement later. Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.), a staunch conservative, said the party must “take no chances; do it now.” And House leadership has heard those demands clearly.
“This law, you have to remember, is hurting families in America,” said Speaker Paul Ryan during a news conference on Wednesday. “So we have to bring Obamacare relief as fast as we possibly can in 2017.”..............
Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee.
http://www.help.senate.gov/about
Committee Membership
Republicans by Rank
Lamar Alexander (TN)
Michael B. Enzi (WY)
Richard Burr (NC)
Johnny Isakson (GA)
Rand Paul (KY)
Susan Collins (ME)
Lisa Murkowski (AK)
Mark Kirk (IL)
Tim Scott (SC)
Orrin Hatch (UT)
Pat Roberts (KS)
Bill Cassidy, M.D. (LA)
Democrats by Rank
Patty Murray (WA)
Barbara Mikulski (MD)
Bernie Sanders (VT)
Robert P. Casey, Jr (PA)
Al Franken (MN)
Michael F. Bennet (CO)
Sheldon Whitehouse (RI)
Tammy Baldwin (WI)
Christopher S. Murphy (CT)
Elizabeth Warren (MA)